William Weaver, currently the chief of surgery at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center in North Carolina, doesn't remember a single day in high school "that a teacher didn't tell him that he didn't belong." This was in Knoxville, Tennessee, where in 1964, he was one of 14 black students integrating the all-white West High School. He remembers his test papers being unfairly snatched from him so he got poor grades initially, never being acknowledged for his accomplishments by his school, and eventually, starting to think, something was wrong with him. How, then, in the face of racism and adversity, did Weaver stay motivated, graduate from college, and go on to become a successful doctor? This article shines light on Weaver's journey, and the mentor who cheered him on, visibly and invisibly, from the sidelines.
